A Torn Heart Leads to a Torn Soul, Take 2
by Me-Ik's my Yami
Summary: Something happened to someone in the gang. Can everyone else find a way to help them, while seeing the light of true romance at the same time? And who the heck is Janet?
1. Search and Seizure

**FYI-I DO NOT OWN Yu-Gi-Oh!

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**Welcome back to AATHLTATS!**

This is a new production of the story (both owned by me.) The storyline is (sorry, I lied) almost the same, but not really. And, uh, no more referenced to my peeps. So, on with my new story...

"A TORN HEART LEADS TO A TORN SOUL, TAKE 2"

(a. k. a. ATHLTATST2)

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Just a quick note, I promise: Word Perfect just about crashed, so I had to convert this to MSWord. I apoligize for missing (')s (so he's might look like hes) and missing (")s. A quote with missing " will look like this: AMorning Yami. said the still...

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Chapter 1-Search and Seizure

It was early in the morning when a young, spiky-haired boy awoke from his slumber. He looked over at the clock on his bedside table. 6:30, too early for young Yugi Mouto. While deciding whether to go back to sleep, or just find something to do, he looked over at his dresser across the room. He saw the millennium puzzle sitting there, and thought of the other person who loved the mornings. He got up out of bed and walked towards the dresser and put on the puzzle. "Morning Yami." said the still half-asleep Yugi in his green pyjamas.

"Morning already?" responded a man with a voice deeper than Yugis. "Why must you get up so early?"

"What? You mean youre not a morning person?" Yugi asked innocently. Yami looked over at his smaller counterpart, with one of those why must you faces. "So, anything new?"

"Not much, but..." he started to laugh.

"Whats so funny?" little Yugi asked.

"Its your hair. It looks all droopy. Do you toss and turn all night?"

"Not that I know of." Yugi began before walking over to the mirror hanging on the wall of his room. He looked at himself, then ran his fingers through his gold, black and red hair. Yami was right, instead of all three colors being nicely separated, they were all a big jumble, in front of his face. "Gah! This will take me hours to fix!"

"Well, then its a good thing you woke up early. Goodnight!" said Yami as he slowly drifted back into the puzzle.

"Not so fast!" Yugi said, pulling on the neck-belt of his older friend.

"Ow! Need...air!" Yugi, realizing he was choking his friend let go, and apologized. "Thats okay, but what do you want from me?"

"Well, since Im going to be here all day, youre going to have to go to school as me. You're the only one who would know how to act like me. After all, you are me, arent you?"

Yami, realizing that he couldnt argue with the logic placed before him, agreed to do Yugis request. "But, you dont think people will realize you grew a foot overnight?"

"Have they ever before?"

Once again, Yami could not argue with the logic, so he prepared for his first day of school.

"Dont forget to say hi to Janet for me!" Yugi yelled as Yami was running out the door an hour later. "You know we were supposed to go out after school today. Tell her Im not feeling well, well, youre not feeling well, whatever. Tell her you need to be here."

"Yugi, just worry about your hair." said Yami, laughing as he went out the door.

_Wait, why wasnt Yamis hair messed up?_ Yugi thought to himself. After a quick shrug, he returned to the tidying of his hair. He had just gotten one gold lock straightened.

Later, while on his way to school, a tall blond turned a corner, running into Yami. "Oh, sorry." said the man.

"Thats okay." said Yami, as he was helped up by the green-sleeved man. He looked back up at Joey Wheeler, and his friend Tristan.

"Nice job dude. Just running Yugi over like that! You okay Yug?"

"Yes, Im fine." Now Yami saw a problem. He had to convince some of Yugis best friends that he was Yugi. _Not as easy as he thought_. Yami thought. "So, shall we continue to school?"

"Right." Joey began before a little black-haired, short girl with the number 30 on her shirt came walking up the street from the other direction. "Oh, hi Janet." He then bent down and whispered into Yugis ear. "Hey, do you want us to leave you alone so you can talk to Janet?"

_Oh, so thats Janet._ He thought. He looked up at the girl She had black eyes, and black, straight hair that went down to her shoulder, pulled back in a ponytail. Her orange sweatshirt with the number 30 on it covered a white tee-shirt. She wore tan, cargo pants. _What was Yugi thinking?_ "Um, sure. Thanks." he finally said back to Joey.

"Okay then. Well see you in school Yugi. Come on Tristan."

"Oh, hi Yugi." Janet yelled, running up to the man she though was her boyfriend. She jumped into his arms, a long way up by the way, and gave Yami a big kiss.

_Boy, people are stupid._ Yami thought as he continued to embrace his friends girlfriend.

::A/N Yeah, I know it sounds wrong, but Yugi told Yami to act like him, didnt he? Besides, its my story!::

**Meanwhile, back at the Mouto residence**

Yugi had untangled all of his gold bits of hair and was about to begin the black and red parts when the phone rang. Yugi stepped away from his hair to answer it. "Hello?" he said into the receiver. Nothing. "Hello?" he asked again. Still, nothing was heard on the other end. Yugi hung up and was going to turn back to his mirror. As he turned around, he saw something that made his heart stop (well, just about, at-least.) He was looking at a man he had never seen before, but he had the millennium symbol on the hood of his cape.

"Yugi Mouto?" he asked.

"Yes, thats me," he began nervously, "what do you want?"

"I'm here about your Yami. Do you know what he is doing?"

"Um, going to school." Yugi started.

"Oh, hes doing much more than that. Is it true you told him to act like you?"

"Well, yeah. Why? Whats going on?"

"Would you be okay if you found out he kissed your girlfriend?"

"Well, yeah. Thats what I would do."

"Oh, then okay." He picked up a book from inside his cloak and began to read it. He thumbed to a page, then read aloud. "Yugi, in accordance to rule 613 section 3 article 2, Yamis shall not interact with the real life. Ill have to go get him. He's **suspended**."

"What?!" Yugi yelled. "I told him to go out and do that. He's me for crying out loud. Where's the problem?"

"Did you say, he was you?" the man asked Yugi.

"Um, yeah." said Yugi, slightly calmer. "Why?"

"Well, if he's you, then you're him. To make my life easier, Im just going to take you instead."

"I, uh, well, you see..." was all that scared Yugi could produce. In front of him, a portal was produced by the dark man in the black cloak.

"Time to go, Yugi."

"This doesnt seem right." Yugi finally said. "Let me see the book." Yugi demanded, but it was too late. The man had already pushed Yugi into the portal, sending him to who knows where. The man then stepped through the portal, leaving something behind, the book. It lay open on the floor, and, when a wind come though the open window, the pages blew, revealing something special about the book. Every page in the book was blank.

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So, Im back. What do you think? Yes, (ducks from the rocks being thrown at him) I left a cliffhanger. What better chapter than that? Okay, same rules. Youve read, so REVIEW! 

M's.M.Y.

If you actually want to read this, you can, but you really dont have to. There is nothing down here. No, Im not kidding, this really has nothing to do with the story. I cant believe youre still reading this. Im telling you, there is nothing down here. Why havent you reviewed yet? Is it because youre still reading this ridiculous blurb? Well, then stop, move your mouse to the lower left hand corner of your screen, and click go. ... What? You havent stopped reading yet? I cant believe this! Okay, you dragged it out of me. The next chapter is called Is Blood Thicker than Water? Now, shoo-shoo! Go review my story. I will see you soon!

REVIEW ALREADY!!!!!


	2. Two Faces, One Evil Plot

**FYI-I DO NOT OWN Yu-Gi-Oh!**

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NO REVIEWERS TO THANK…OH WELL, SAVES SPACE.

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**Chapter 2-Two Faces, One Evil Plot **

Unknown to Yami, Yugi was being pulled into who knows where. Meanwhile, back in Domino, Janet and Yami continued to walk to school. They were about a block away when Janet asked, "So, what are we going to do today after school?"

Yami, remembering what Yugi had tried to say earlier, thought up the best excuse he could. Unfortunately, this is what he came up with: "I don't know. What do you want to do?"

Janet saw her opportunity to get whatever she wants from Yugi (or so she thinks). "Do you want to maybe go to the mall after school, you know, get some pizza?"

However, it didn't really matter what Janet was saying because Yami was paying attention to something else, rather, some_one_ else. "Janet," he began, "that sounds fun, but I just remembered I said I would help my grandpa with the shop this afternoon. I'm really sorry."

Janet, realizing that he was lying, replied, "Okay. I guess I'll just see you around school then."

"Thanks for understanding. Again, I'm really sorry. Bye!" He kissed Janet, then watched her continue to school. Then he went over to the thing he had his eye on before. "Hello, how are you?" he asked in he sexiest voice.

**Meanwhile, in who knows where **

Yugi awoke from his light sleep to find out he was lying on a stone floor. He tried to look around, but his neck hurt too much. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a small light, then someone coming towards him. "You?" he tried to say, but he was too weak. He then fell back to his slumberous state.

**Back at (what I'll call) Domino High School **

Yami, having received the answer he wanted from his friend, walked into his class. He sat down in what he assumed was Yugi's desk.

"Uh, Yug?" Joey asked from across the room.

"Yes Joey?" he replied.

"Um, why are you sitting in Kaiba's seat?"

"What?" he asked quietly, but it was too late. The brown-haired tall thin man had already noticed the intruder, and closed in for the kill.

"I believe you're in my seat." Seto said, in his usual angry voice.

"Yes," Yami started. "I am. I just wanted to see what sitting in the seat-of-power felt like." This, again, was the best Yami could come up with. It did little, except for getting a laugh from the class, the most extreme laugh of course coming from Joey.

"If that's what you want, run President in America. You don't get much stronger than that." Kaiba then pulled out his little American Flag kept in his pocket.

"That's enough." the teacher stated as he walked in the class. The room suddenly became quiet as everyone took their seats. "Mr. Mouto, if you please?" the teacher then motioned toward the only empty seat remaining in the room. Yami sat down next to the person he met before.

"What, you can't remember where you sit?" Said a female voice.

"Nah, just a long morning." He answered back with a smile. His little gesture didn't go unnoticed. Nest to him, Joey began to think.

_What's Yugi doing fancying another girl?_ He though as the teacher began his lesson. They were studying math that day.

**1 Hour Later **

"My brain hurts." stated a tired and worn out Joey.

"Mine too." stated Tristan. "Who knew math could do that to somebody?"

"I did." Yami said, trying to think of what Yugi would do. He hated algebra, didn't he? That's when he saw Janet. "Joey, Tristan? I'll see you later at the shop?"

"Oh, sure dude." Tristan said as he and Joey left to go home.

"Hey Yugi! What's new?" Janet asked.

"Oh nothing much."

"So I'll see you tomorrow?"

_Doubt it. _Yami though. "I guess so."

"Okay then, bye!" she said with a kiss.

Yami kissed her back, and went on his way. He thought about a bunch of things on his way home. He though about why Janet had to be Yugi's girlfriend. Why couldn't he pick whom Yugi got? He was the Pharaoh, wasn't he? Did he not see all the pretty girls that attended Domino High? What about the person he met today. Yugi would enjoy being in her company a lot more than Janet's.

The walk that had taken him a couple of minutes this morning too him hours now. It would have taken him just five minutes if he hadn't stopped numerous times to sit and think. He stopped in the park and watched the birds. He stopped at a random street corner, it was where Janet Street crossed Joy Avenue. It made him think. _If Yugi is happy with Janet, then I guess I should be as well._ He thought as he finally walked through the door of the store. "Yugi?" Yami yelled once inside. When nobody answered, he got worried. He ran upstairs to where he had last seen Yugi-in front of the mirror in his bedroom. Again, no Yugi, but there was _something_ there he hadn't seen before. There was a book lying open on the floor. He picked it up and looked through all the blank pages. He then looked at the front cover. It said Rules of the Yami. _That's strange_. He thought. However, at a closer look he noticed that he wasn't looking at the true front cover of the book. He ripped off the paper so crudely attached and read the words Evil Magic for Dimwits. Yami then realized something horrible. Yugi was gone, and there was little he could do.

**Meanwhile, somewhere else **

"Is all going according to plan?" a female voice asked.

"Yes mistress. The boy is safe, and Romeo doesn't have a clue!"


	3. Shoeless Joey

**Before I begin, may I note that this chapter is not as clean as my other chapters.  
It does not have bad words in it, but the situation may make some uneasy.  
I take no responsibility if you read this, and then are uncomfortable later. Thank you. **

PS-I do not own "Yu-Gi-Oh!" or any related characters. However, the character 'Janet' is mine.

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Chapter 3-Shoeless Joey

:: Yugi ::

The unidentified person came towards Yugi who was lying on the floor. "So, have you figured me out yet, Yugi?" a female voice said.

Yugi, slowly regaining his strength looked up again to see his captor. "Why are you keeping me here?" he said softly, trying to save his strength.

"You've been looking around too much. I needed to keep you away from everyone else."

"What do you mean?" the frail Yugi asked.

"I mean you need to be looking one way, not a dozen ways. Now it's time for you to learn!" And with her angry voice echoing in the room, she left, thus diminishing the light remaining in the room, leaving Yugi to sit in the cold thinking about what would happen to him next.

:: Meanwhile, back in Domino:: 

Yami began to think about how he could possibly get Yugi back to where he was now. "His friends are smart. They'll know what to do." And thus began Yami's woeful journey attempting to persuade all of Yugi's friends to help him rescue Yugi. He started with Yugi's best friend, Joey. First, he had to find where Joey lived though. '_Now, if I were Yugi, where would I keep my address book?'_ he thought to himself. Yami searched through Yugi's desk, his closet, even under his bed. No luck. Then, Yami had one of those light-bulb sudden ideas you get. He remembered that Yugi was a practical person, and went to look next to the phone. He flipped through the pages, pulling out names and other information, starting with his closest friend-Joey Wheeler.

:: Ten minutes later, walking through the city::

Yami walked up the stairs to house number 308, the Wheeler residence. A ring of the bell brought a man, who appeared to be drunk. Yami wasn't quite sure from the sight of the man; tee shirt and boxers, socks an unshaved beard and wrinkled hair.

"Yeah," the man started in a mean, loud, drunk voice, "what do you want?"

"Mr. Wheeler, I presume?" Yami asked, coolly.

"Lovely day, isn't it stranger?" the man replied.

"Why yes," Yami started, a little unsure about the conversation he was involved in, "Yes it is. So, in the assumption that you _are_ Mr. Wheeler, is Joey at home?"

"Who?" the man asked. "You want to see Joey? Is that what you want? Well, if you want to see him, there's something you've got to do for me first."

"Um, okay." Yami answered, nervously.

"The man leaned in towards Yami's face. Now Yami was 100 positive that this man was drunk-he could smell it. "You've got to kiss my–"

"Dad!" Joey yelled from atop the stairs where he had just arrived. He then descended the stairs towards Yami. However, before he could reach his friend, he had to go through his father first.

"Joseph! How many times must I tell you to not interrupt?" Joey's dad yelled. He raised his hand, about to hit Joey, when Yami jumped in to save Yugi's friend. He caught Mr. Wheeler's arm not three inches away from Joey's face. Joey ran outside, pulling Yami with him.

"Run!" Joey yelled to Yami. He obeyed, and ran up the street with Joey. They were at the end of the block when they heard Mr. Wheeler's scream of hate at Joey. The running didn't stop until they were about five blocks away. Joey spoke first, once he caught his breath. "Hey, thanks."

Yami, still trying to catch his breath spoke very shortly, "You're…welcome…" A few deep breaths later, he tried full sentences. "So, Joey, how longs has your dad been that way?"

"Since before you knew me, remember? I though I told you to always call before you came over. You knew you'd meet my dad at the door like that."

As Joey continued to speak to who he thought was Yugi, Yami looked down at what Joey was wearing. It was very similar to his father's outfit with the exceptions of the beard, and the fact that Joey had chosen to wear pants. However, his shirt was torn in a few places and stained, and his black jeans had some red and white plaid patches. His ensemble was completed with the absence of footwear, other than the socks on his feet. "Joey…"

Joey stopped talking, and looked up at Yami. "Yeah?"

"Maybe you should come back to my house. You look like you were attached by a tablecloth…and it looks like you lost."

"Thanks. I'd like that very much." Joey said to Yami. The two of them started walking back to the game shop, when Joey looked over and asked, "So, what did you come over to my house for anyway, Yugi?"

Yami stopped where he was and looked at the ground. He had no logical way of explaining his situation to Joey. He barely even knew who he was going to explain to him how he wasn't Yugi, but rather a 5,000 year old man from ancient Egypt. "I'll explain it to you back at the shop, Joey. I don't want to make you any more upset that you already are."

"What could you possibly say that would upset me?"

"Well, for one thing, I'm not Yugi."

This finally made Joey stop. Those last three words made Joey stop dead in his tracks. This time, Yami pulled Joey to safety, that is, out of the way of a car coming up the street that Joey was standing right in the middle of. It took Joey a minute before he was ready to speak again. When he did, he simply told him "we'll talk at the game shop." The two then remained quiet for the rest of their journey-all seven blocks.

When the two boys finally arrived, they headed straight for Yugi's room. Only then did the pair begin to speak again. This time, Yami started. "Here Joey," he said, opening Yugi's closet, "if you can find anything that fits, feel free to wear it."

"Ya know, I don't think ya have the right to, pardon the expression, but, open up his closet to me. Now, you was sayin'?"

"Um, okay, let me explain this whole situation."

"That would be nice." Joey added.

Yami took a deep breath and sat down on Yugi's bed while Joey attempted to find something to wear. "Well, you see, it all started a few years ago. Remember that puzzle Yugi solved? The one you stole a piece of?"

"You mean like the one you've got around your neck?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Well, that is my home…well; it's my mind's home. You see, originally, I came from Egypt, but then I sacrificed myself to stop evil from taking over the world. Now, it was said that it would happen again, and another would rise to fight off that evil. Yugi is that person. However, something went wring, and now Yugi's gone, and I need to get him back." Yami looked up to find Joey's mouth agape, and not wearing a shirt.

Once Joey came back to reality, he quickly threw a shirt on, and scolded Yami for this "breech of privacy" as Joey called it.

"Oh, please. I saw you dad in his underwear. If you think I haven't seen enough skin of the Wheeler family, you'd be wrong."

"Point taken. But give me some slack. This is a lot to take in. Yugi's some hero destined to save 'da world, and he's missing on top of all this? So wait," he said, pausing, "if Yugi's gone, then who are _you_?"

Yami was once again searching for words. He couldn't think of a way to explain this. However, being straight forward worked with him before, so why not try again? "Joey, I look like Yugi, that's because I'm a part of him. We share a mind. So, in a way, I am Yugi, but in Egypt, I was pharaoh. Now, for some reason, everyone calls me Yami."

"Well, nice to meet ya' Yami." Said Joey, extending a hand, which Yami politely accepted. Yami then looked at Joey's new clothes. Since they were all Yugi's everything was kind of small; the black shirt, the blue coat and pants, and the black shoes. "What, do you think I should put on one of his neck-belt things?" he asked, laughing.

"No, I think you're fine. So, will you help me?"

"How can I help, Yami?"

"Well, first, I need to get in contact with all of Yugi's friends, convince them who I am, find a way to a) find Yugi and b) get him back, and while we're at it, get Janet out of the picture."

"Hey! What's wrong with Janet?"

"As a person, nothing, but she's just nor right fro Yugi, and who known him better than I do?"

"Well, he does for one. And he must know that Janet is right for him." Said Joey, sticking up for his missing friend. Then, a big thought came to Joey. "Yami, how tall are you?"

'_He's just catching on now?_' Yami thought. "Taller than Yugi, if that's what you're getting to."

"I can't believe I, well, everyone didn't notice the difference. So wait, is that why we all though Yugi lost his marbles today?"

"Yep. I sat in Kaiba's seat. I didn't have a clue what I was doing."

"And to think I though Yugi had changed. I'm glad to hear it was you going after someone else, not Yugi."

"So," Yami began, getting up, "shall we go acquire everyone else?"

"No," Joey said, pulling Yami back to the bed, "we need to keep talking. Besides, I don't wanna be seen in public daylight like this. I say we get everyone tomorrow, and I get some new clothes tonight. Mind if I stay here until we mobilize? I don't think I can ever face my dad again-not after what happened today." Joey stopped talking, suddenly.

"Why Joey, what happened?" Yami asked, in a calm voice.

"Well, you told me about your past, so I guess it's only fair that I tell you about mine. Many years ago, my dad got a divorce from my mother. He took me, and I lost my sister, Serenity, to my mother."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Yami began, but before he could say anything else, Joey stopped him.

"Thanks, but let me tell my story. Anyway, I kept some pictures of my mother, and the one picture I had of my sister. The two of us were so close; we always wanted to be friends. Anyway, today, I took those pictures out. It's Serenity's birthday, and I go through the same thing every year. I look at the pictures, and my dad finds me, then he yells at me, and then he hits me. While I'm on the floor in pain, my dad goes out and gets drunk. I've seen it the past thirteen years, and I never get used to it. But this year, it was different. You came and rang the bell while this was going on. My dad was extra mad at that, and he said some stuff he couldn't take back. The worst part was, he meant it, every word, probably because he was drunk when he started."

These words hurt Yami so much, hearing that someone could have so many problems with their family. He looked over at Joey who was just about on the verge of tears. He leaned over and gave him a hug and said, "It's going to be all right. I'm here for you."

Joey sniffled, and then said, "I got over it, then got used to it, an' I don't wanna talk about it any more today, all right?"

Yami sighed and agreed. "Well, since you don't want to go get your clothes until later, should we order in a pizza?"

Joey looked up and smiled. "Now you're speakin' my language. Gimme the phone."

Once the pizza arrived, and Joey convinced Yami to try the pineapple and anchovy combo he had ordered, they only had a few hours left until the sun went down. "We should probably think of how we're going to get your clothes back." Yami suggested, swallowing one last bite of pizza.

"Yeah, I guess we should." Said Joey, going over to his pair of black jeans lying on the floor in front of the bed. He picked them up and started going through the pockets, desperately in search of something. Unsuccessful, he looked over at Yami. "We've got a problem." He said.

"What now?" asked Yami, going over to him.

"Well, when I left the house in such a rush, I didn't have my keys with me. I can't get into my house."

"Joey, I seem to recall Yugi, you, and the rest of the gang getting out of situations like this before. You guys always seemed to get out of problems with some weird plan. Willing to give one a try?"

After some thought, Joey spoke just three words; "Let's do this."

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**Okay, here is the EXTENDED version of the chapter. To my sole reviewer, there's quite a story behind this, but, you don't really need to know...unless you want to that is.**

**PS-A good friend once told me that not everyone who reads reviews, but people may still like it anyway. So to you, other readers, I say review. How else can I improve my story, without your guidance? Enjoy the new year!**


	4. New Faces, Old Places

**Chapter 4-Old Faces, New Places**

It was about 10:00 when Yami drove up in front of Joey's house. Joey, dressed still in Yugi's dark blue and black clothes, jumped out of the car, and ran into the backyard of his house--just as Yami's plan had called for. Ever so quietly, he climbed up the back rain gutter to the second floor--and to an un-locked window. The window was to the hallway, and Joey knew from all his years living at the house that this window was impossible to open without making a big squeak, but it was also the only window that wouldn't lock no matter how hard you tried. The blond would have to open it slowly, and just big enough for him to squeeze through. He didn't want to take any extra risks.

While Joey was hard at work with the upstairs window, Yami waited back in the get-away car. Five minutes had passed when someone walked by. Ducking down to avoid being seen was a challenge for tall Yami. He attempted to quickly go down, but it didn't make it in time for a brown-haired girl to walk by and see him.

"Yugi?" she asked, walking up to the car. "Yugi? Get up; I can see you down there. You're not fooling me!"

Frustrated, Yami got up and opened the door for Téa to get inside. "Hi Téa." He said.

"Hello, yourself. What are you doing at Joey's so late at night? And come to think of it, what are you doing behind the wheel of a car? You can't drive!"

"Well, you're not the only person who has reason to wonder." Yami spat back at her. "What are you doing out here all alone so late at night?"

Téa just sat there with a stunned look on her face. "Well…I just wanted some fresh air."

"Right." Yami said back to her, a sarcastic look on his face. However, before either person could say another word, they heard screams coming from Joey's backyard. Then they saw Joey, running for his life with a big duffel bag over his shoulder. Then they heard a gun shot.

"DRIVE!" he yelled to Yami, jumping into the car. He didn't even notice Téa until they were a block away.

"So," she began, "rough day? And why are you wearing Yugi's clothes? Come to think of it Yugi, WHY ARE YOU DRIVING?"

"Téa!" Yami yelled at her. "If you'll be quiet, maybe Joey will explain it all to you." Téa was obviously upset at this last remark, which would explain for the grumpy look on her face and her arms folded across her chest.

"Fine." She said quietly.

"Téa, the person you are talking to is not Yugi." Joey told her.

"What?" she asked survived. "Well, if he's not Yugi, then who is it?"

"That's not important right now—what's important is that we get back to the game shop so we can fill you in on what's going on." Yami said.

"But, why won't you tell me anything?"

"Téa, he already said we would explain what's going on later." Joey added.

"So then you know too?" Téa asked. Then there was a short pause in the car, until Téa eventually broke it. "Why am I always the last person to find out about these things?" That was the last sound heard in the car before the threesome got back to the shop, (with the exception of a few grunts from Yami and Joey, and some small sighs from Téa.) But then the sound started again, once they got out of the car.

"Come inside, quickly now!" Yami said as they went into the loving quarters of the game shop. Téa sat down on the plush green couch as Joey sat down next to her. Yami sat down on the floor across from them.

"So, will somebody tell me what's going on now?" Téa insisted.

"Fine. Yugi's gone and we need to get him back. The rest is kind of complicated." Joey informed.

Téa, with a confused look on her face only looked over at Yami, who was still deep in thought. "What do you mean 'Yugi's gone'?" she began, "Isn't he sitting right there across from us? Didn't he just drive us here?"

"That's not Yugi, Téa."

"It's not?" She inquired, sounding quite surprised. "Then who is he?"

Only now did Yami look up at the two of them. "Téa," he began, "I am named Yami. I am another part of Yugi. I know it sounds complicated, but I thought you would understand. You started to notice in Duelist Kingdom. Is there any way I can make it clearer?"

"No, I think I get it now. Is that why Yugi's height keeps changing all the time?"

'_Okay, so not all humans are stupid._' Yami thought to himself. "Yep. You're the first one to catch on, actually. Okay, now I've spilled my story. It's your turn. Why were you out so late?"

Téa sighed and just looked at the floor.

"Come on Téa, fill us in." Joey said, looking at her.

Téa ruffled her black shirt, and looked up. "Okay." (Another sight.) "My mom and I had just gotten into another fight. I had to go, I couldn't stand her anymore."

Joey looked over at her, and rubbed her shoulder. "I know what you're going through. That's how I would up here, too."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I'm here because my dad and I got into a fight. Yami came to me for help, and it would out that I needed some help from him too." Téa looked deep into Joey's eyes and then smiled. "What?" Joey asked?

"I didn't know. I guess it's just nice to know that somebody else out there is going through what I'm going through." There was a brief silence when Téa went on to say, "So long as we're telling our secrets, why not tell us why you needed Yami to drive so quickly?"

"Yes, Joey." Yami said looking over at Joey now. "Why were you in such a rush?"

Joey laughed, softly and easily. "I saw my dad. I guess I couldn't stand seeing him anymore than you could. No, actually, my dad heard someone walking around upstairs so he got his shotgun. I got the window just before he fired. When I hit the ground, I heard him pull the trigger, but he forgot to put bullets in again. I wanted to get away before he found them."

"You're just lucky when you dad fired he didn't hit you!" Téa added sounding concerned.

"Oh." Téa said, looking down.

"Come on, don't be all gloomy. The three of us have each other now, we should be happy!"

"Joey's right." Yami said, standing up. "We should be happy. Besides, we've got more important things to be thinking about now--like getting Yugi back!"

**::Yugi::**

Poor Yugi had finally begun to get some of his strength back. He decided that if he was going to get back to his own life, and his own friends, he was going to have to do it himself.

'_The first thing I have to do is to figure out where I am_.' He stood up and looked around. His stone prison was still very dark, so it was hard for Yugi to even see two feet if front of him. He walked slowly around the room, feeling in front of him for a wall, or anything really. He finally found a smooth part of the wall--too smooth to be natural. Yugi went with his gut and pushed with all the strength he could.

'_Yes!_' he thought to himself as the 'door' swung open. He now found himself in a narrow hallway, lit with some torches. He took one off of the rack and started to continue down the corridor. Yugi passed a puddle of water, and that puddle eventually turned into a rather large collection of water further up the passage.

"What the heck?" he asked himself, bending down in order to get a drink. When he looked at the surface of the water, he saw his reflection, and saw how beat-up he was. He bad hair was the least of his problems at the moment. His face was cut in many places, and he was bruised above his left eye. His shirt was ripped, and his deck-belt was barely hanging on. Then he heard footsteps. They grew louder and louder until Yugi was face to face with the one person he never expected to see.

"Malik?" Yugi asked.

**A/N:In the next few chapters, I hope to put a duel in, but I'm not sure if it will come out well. I'm currently seeking help on the matter, and will be back with the outcome shortly. Next: An Old Face Plays a Trick.**


	5. An Old Face Plays a Trick

**"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related articles and characters are property of 4Kids Entertainment in the US. All rights reserved.**

Chapter 5-An Old Face Plays a Trick

Joey, Téa and Yami all looked down at their lunch as if the potatoes were going to suddenly start shooting rounds at them. Then, they heard a voice that made them all look up, and it gave them a glimmer of hope.

"Hey guys, what are you doing looking all gloomy? You should be happy. It's lunch time!"

The three people looked up to see a pair of black colored eyes and long black hair looking down at them. "Hey, Janet." Téa said.

"Hey Yami." Joey quietly whispered to Yami, "Do you think Janet knows that Yugi is gone?"

"No," Yami replied, equally as quiet, "I don't think she does. She probably still thinks that I'm—."

"What are you whispering about, Yugi?" Janet said, poking her head between Joey and Yami. "Why don't you use those lips of yours to do something else?" She asked, almost pleasing. Yami kissed her on the cheek, the whole time thinking about how much he dreaded what he was doing. Téa and Joey just laughed to themselves. "So what are you guys up to anyway?"

"Oh," Yami started, "just thinking about a family issue. Téa and Joey said they might be able to help." Yami had to sat this while doing two things. One, he had to sound like Yugi, and two, he had to somehow get Janet out of there.

"That's too bad. Hey! I've got an idea. I've always been good at helping people. Maybe I could help too." This caused Joey, Téa and Yami to all give each other suspicious looks. They all knew they didn't want Janet involved in this. Whenever it came to getting 'one of their own' back, it had always been just them. They only difference was that Tristan wasn't there. He had died in a freak car accident the past year.

"Um, okay Janet." Téa said, uneasy. "You can help." She them mouthed the words 'do something' to Yami as Janet sat down, facing Yami. He just shrugged his shoulders. He didn't have a clue what to do.

"Well, you see," Yami began, "it's about my cousin, from France."

"You have a French cousin?" Janet asked, sounding very surprised as if something from France were strange.

"Yes, I do. And, as a matter of fact, I also have family in Canada if you must know." He said, sounding very confident.

"Okay, I'm sorry, Yugi. I didn't mean to make you upset." Then she leaned over the table and gave Yami another kiss. "So, anyway, you were saying?"

"Well, my cousin, the one from France that is, for some reason, no one in my family can find him. He just vanished." Yami said, trying his best to not sound like a total idiot. Janet just starred at Yami and the others, a blank look on her face.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"Not really." Joey answered.

"Oh." There was a pause in the speaking. To fill the quiet, Joey fiddled with his fork and potatoes. Téa eventually broke the silence.

"So, is there anything you can think of that might help Yugi find his cousin?" Yami looked over at Téa, and gave her a wink for playing along with calling him Yugi.

"Well," Janet began, "where did you see him last?"

"In my room." Yami stopped speaking suddenly almost covering his mouth.

"Did you say in _your_ room?" Janet asked, quickly looking at her 'boyfriend'.

"Um, yes, I did. He was, uh, visiting me for a while. That's why it's such a big deal, he doesn't know where he is here in Tokyo." Yami couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. Somehow, his screw-up had made his story much more convincing. Luckily, Téa and Joey caught on as well.

"You haven't seen him, have you?" Joey asked, trying to sound convincing.

"Well, what does he look like? Anything like you, Yugi?" Janet suggested.

Téa and Joey laughed to themselves. "You could say that." Yami noted.

"Well, I'll keep a look out for your cousin, Yugi. In the meantime, after school why don't we go look where your cousin was seen last, okay?"

"Sounds good." Yami agreed. "See you at four?"

"Deal." Janet said, getting up and giving Yami another kiss. Then she waved to the others and went on her way.

"I hate her." Yami said to the others. "Thank God she finally left!"

"Your cousin from France, huh?" Joey mocked, elbowing Yami easily in the gut.

"This only buys us a little time. We really need to get cracking on this mystery." Téa pitched in.

"Right, but where do we start?" Joey wondered out loud.

"Even though I hate that little mortal, she did give us an idea." Yami proclaimed.

"What was that?" Joey asked.

"Yugi's room." Yami responded back.

**:Yugi:**

The boy with three-colored hair looked up in awe to see someone he hadn't seen in years-and hoped he would never see again.

"Marik, what are you doing here?" Yugi shouted at the being in front of him.

"I've been looking for you of course! Silly Yugi, my weaker counterpart might have been set free by your dueling, but I was forced to walk the shadows." Marik yelled back at Yugi, who continued to stare in awe.

"So what do you want, Marik? Is it a duel, is that what you want?" Yugi yelled, reaching for his deck.

"Slow down Yugi, who said I was looking to duel you? I just want to…chat." Marik declared, sitting on a stone just a few feet away from Yugi who pulled his arm away from his side. "Come, sit." He said to Yugi, motioning towards the rock. Yugi did as he was asked and walked through the small stream near his feet.

"What do you want to chat about?" Yugi asked, trifled by the situation he was presently in.

"Your demise." Marik answered back.

"My what?" Yugi asked sounding very surprised.

"It's a little dark in here, don't you think?" Marik asked, holding up a duel card. "Swords or revealing light!" He yelled, holding the card up. About ten or so swords appeared out of literary nowhere, and lit up the passageway. "So anyway, about your demise?"

"You _do_ want to duel-don't you?" Yugi proclaimed confidently.

"Well, duh!" Marik said, lifting his arm and getting his duel disk ready.

"This isn't any ordinary duel, is it?" Yugi asked, raising his own disk and inserting his deck. "Whenever you're involved, there's always something tied on."

"Very observant Yugi. So you want to know the catch, huh? Okay, I'll tell you. If I win, I get to leave."

"Leave where?" Yugi asked anxiously.

"From this." He snapped his fingers and down from the top of the 'room' came a cage. If locked into position on the ground and a blue orb of light surrounded the cage. At once, Yugi attempted to leave this new enclosure and failed, repelled by the wall. "Nice touch, huh? Like I was saying, if, and when I win, I will be able to leave the arena-with your soul."

"My soul?" Yugi asked in disbelief. "And if I should win?"

"In the rare case that you do somehow manage to beat me in this duel, you will be permitted to leave-with my soul."

"Your soul? But I already have a soul!" Yugi announced.

"I'm well aware of that!" Marik stated. "You will gain my soul in addition to your own."

"So it's a lose/lose situation for me, isn't it?"

"Who knew you were so smart? And Kaiba said you were stupid! Shows what he knows. So, shall we get started already?"

"Let's do this!" Yugi yelled, along with Marik.

LPYugi 6000Marik 6000

(A/N:Please don't be upset with me. I tried to write a duel, but I failed…miserably. I'll come back to the duel, I promise.)

:Yami's Group: Time 3:00pm

Yami, Téa and Joey were all sitting on Yugi's bed in his room. "I can't believe we found nothing." Téa said after a vigorous search of the room had come up empty.

"We may have found nothing big, but that doesn't mean we haven't found anything." Joey said, astonishing both Téa and Yami.

"Joey, you need to cut down on the detective shows you watch." Téa said.

"No, he's right actually." Yami said. "For example…" he said as he left the room. Yami returned several moments later with a certain book in hand. "Here," he said, handing the book to Téa, "I found this the night Yugi disappeared."

She examined the book and then gave it to Joey. He examined it as well and then said, "I could send this to my uncle of you like. He works with the police force out in the states. He could fingerprint it for us."

"Really?" Yami asked. Joey nodded. "Well it's a start. Now come on, there must be something else here we're missing."

"Yami, we've looked at the room at least three times. I don't think we're going to find anything else." Téa said sounding very disappointed.

"Well then maybe I can help." A female voice said to the group.

"Hey, Janet." Joey said, sounding nervous. "You're a little early, aren't you?"

"Well, I thought about how I could help, and the first thing that came into my mind was to help you look all I could, so here I am. Your grandpa let me in."

"Well, it's um, nice to see you're so eager to help." Yami said.

"Thanks. Have you found anything yet?" Janet asked.

"Just this book," Téa started. "Joey's uncle in the U.S. is going to fingerprint it for us."

"Why send it all the way to the states. I can do it for you here in Japan. _My_ uncle works with CSIs here. I'll hold on to it, okay?" She asked, reaching her arm out toward Joey who still had the book. Joey was very reluctant to give it up, but eventually gave in after seeing Yami give a small nod, out of Janet's sight. "Thanks. So, where else have you looked?" She asked.

"Everywhere." Joey said.

"Three times." Téa added.

"Everywhere? Are you sure?" Janet asked.

"What are you saying?" Yami now asked, sounding a bit suspicious.

"Well, I mean, define _everywhere_." She said.

"Yugi's room," Joey began, "that's our definition of everywhere."

"Well no wonder you haven't found anything else. Why not check the rest of the house?" Joey, Téa and Yami all looked at each other and gave one of those 'I guess so' looks to each other. "Okay Yugi, lead the way!" She pronounced, following Yugi, Téa and Joey out of the room.

:Yugi:

LPYugi 250Marik 100

It was coming down to the end of one of the greatest duels ever fought in the history of the game, and little Yugi Mouto was unsure of what he wanted to do next. '_If I attack his Beaver Warrior with my Dark Magician, I would win the duel, which means I would get his soul. But if I don't attack, he'll attack my Kuriboh, and he'll win, which means he gets my soul. I've never had to make a harder decision._' He thought to himself. As Yugi thought about his next move, Marik 'assisted' him.

"Would you like to know what _I_ would do?" Marik asked.

"Not really." Yugi said back to him.

"Fine then." Marik said. "But I'll help you anyway. You have 60 seconds to make your decision. If you fail to make it in that time, then I'll just blow up the planet." He waved his arms and like magic, a digital type clock appeared in the arena. It showed 59, then 58, and then 57.

'_What should I do?_' Yugi thought. 48. '_There must be something I can do!_' he screamed in his head. 29. '_Well, I guess this is my decision._' He thought. "Here goes nothing." He said aloud. Marik looked up and took away the clock.

"You know I really wasn't going to do anything." He laughed mockingly as Yugi said his final words.

"Dark Magician, attack his Beaver Warrior!" He screamed, as a small clear tear rolled down the front of his face. The Magician attacked the poor Beaver, and then broke into a billion holographic pieces.

LPYugi 250Marik 0

"This is where it gets funky." Marik said. At that moment, he burst into a beam of light, and then became a flying projectile. He aimed himself right at Yugi's heart, and went inside. Immediately, Marik's soul took over Yugi. This was a new sensation for Yugi. He was used to having a soul that would cooperate with him, but now he was facing a soul that was commanding. "Let's take care of business, shall we?" Marik controlled Yugi said, reaching for a cell phone lying on the rock just near the dueling cage that vanished with the merging of the two souls. Marik controlled Yugi picked it up and pressed the first number on the speed dial menu.

:Yami's Group:

Yami, along with his four companions were searching the kitchen when a cell-phone rang. Joey looked down and answered it. "Hello?"

**A/N:Gasp! What does it all mean? Tune in next update to find out. Until then though, good health for yourself, family and friends.**


	6. Phone a Friend

**"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related articles and characters are property of 4Kids Entertainment in the US. All rights reserved.**

Chapter 6-Phone a Friend

"Hello?" Joey Wheeler asked into his cell phone again. Everyone, especially one person in particular, looked at him as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. He put his hand over the phone and said to the rest of the group, "It's my dad. This may take a while." He left the room to take his conversation somewhere more private.

"I hope he doesn't say something he can't take back." Téa said, to which Janet nodded. Now another phone rang, behind the counter of the games shop.

"I'll get it." Yami said, very happy to get away from Janet. He walked back behind the glass display case, admiring some of the duel cars so nicely displayed below, many still in protective plastics. He picked up the white receiver and said the greeting that he had heard Yugi utter so many times before. "Game shop. Our service is faster than out turtle. Yugi speaking, how may I help you?"

"Yami? It's Yugi!" Yugi's frail voice said on the other side of the line.

"Hey, how have you been?" Yami asked.

"I'm okay. Um, is Janet there?" He asked.

'_Figures._' Yami thought. "Yeah, would you like to speak to her?" He asked.

"Yep. I miss her." He said.

"Um, who should I say is calling? She thinks I'm you, remember?" Yami asked, pointing out the potential flaw in Yugi's plan.

"Don't say who, just being able to hear her voice will be enough." Yugi pleaded.

"Suit yourself. I'll set you up." He said to Yugi. Then, in a louder voice, he said, "No, I can't tell you about that. Maybe there's someone here who can. Hold on." He put the phone down on the counter and walked back to the kitchen. Joey had still not returned. "Janet, I've got someone on the phone who's looking for some information. I thought you could help him."

"I'll give it a shot, but I'm not sure if I can be of any help." Janet said, walking back to the game shop.

Yami watched her leave, and checked she was out of earshot before he began talking to Téa. "That's Yugi on the phone, Téa."

"What!" She said, quite loudly. "Janet can't know about you and Yugi being different people."

"I know, I told him that, but he said he had a plan and he usually knows what he's doing. So I trusted him." Yami said, then a short pause occurred before the conversation continued, both participants well aware of what they would be talking about. "And idea how Joey is doing with his dad?"

"No. I know as much as you do. I hope he's okay." Téa said, holding her arms at her elbows.

Meanwhile, in the other room, a conversation was still going on between a boy realizing just why he left when he did, and an angry father that would not accept 'no' for an answer. "Dad, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not coming back home! Not after the way you've been treating me!" Joey screamed into the phone. He waited to listen to what his father had to say, but before he could hear the end of it, Téa walked in with Yami.

"How's it going, Joey?" Téa asked?

Joey shook his head. "Not well. He wants me to come back home." He sighed and put the phone back up to his ear.

"Joey, remember, you can always stay here with the three of us if you need to. The same goes for you, Téa," he said, turning to her, "you know you're always welcome here."

"Thanks." Téa said aloud. '_Hmm, maybe he's not as far out of normal life as I first thought._' She thought to herself, smiling.

"What are you so happy about?" a voice asked, tapping Téa on the shoulder.

"Oh, nothing, Janet." Téa said, blushing.

"Oh, hi." Yami said, upset that Janet was once again in his sights. "Were you able to help that customer with what he wanted?" Yami now asked.

"No. Maybe you know something about it I don't, Téa." Janet inferred. "Perhaps you could help him." Téa looked over at Yami who gave a nod.

"Okay, maybe there's something I do know." She said walking to the phone.

'_Why does she keep looking at me before she makes a decision?_ _I don't really know much about what she should do._' Yami thought as he watched Téa depart into the next room.

Téa picked up the phone and quietly said, "Yugi?"

"Téa? It's so nice to be able to hear your voice again. How have you been?" Yugi asked on the other end of the line.

"I'm alright. Um, where are you? We've all been worried sick!" Téa announced, concerned about what could possible be happening to Yugi at that very moment.

"I'm not sure. It's dark and damp. I think I might be in a sewer." Yugi said into the phone.

"You can get reception from down there?" Téa asked shocked.

"I guess so." Yugi said. "So, I heard you and your mom had a little argument. Is everything okay?"

"What do you mean 'you heard'? Whom could you have possibly heard from?" Téa demanded.

"Yami told me." Was all Téa heard before slamming the phone down on the counter, not on the receiver, but on the glass. She rushed out of the room in search of Yami whom she now had a bone to pick with.

At the same time, Joey was just finishing up his conversation with his dad, which proved to be much less dramatic than originally thought. Not really in the mood to talk to anyone anymore, he turned off his phone and put it away in his pocked. HE went back into the main room of the house to discover only Yami and Janet. "Hey, where's Téa?" he asked to the group.

"Beats me." Janet said. "Last I saw her, she was in the other room talking to some customer."

"Oh, so where is she now?" Joey now asked.

"I'm right here." Téa announced. She walked over to Yami and pulled on his collar. "You, with me, NOW." She said in short little bursts. Joey and Janet had nothing to do but sit and stare in awe as a once calm and understanding Téa now dragged an unknowing 5,000 year old across the room.

"Has she been acting like that this whole time?" Joey quietly asked of Janet.

"No, it's quite a shock actually. So how's your dad?" Janet asked.

"I really don't want to talk about it." He said. He then left the room looking for some alone time, leaving Janet alone to do what she wanted.

Téa was still dragging Yami to a more private location. When they reached the phone, Téa put their conversation on over the speaker. "Yugi, what's going on with me and my family?" Téa asked.

"You're having an argument with your mother." Yugi said on the other end of the speakerphone.

"And where did you hear that from?" Téa asked, eying Yami as she spoke.

"Why from Yami of course." Yugi announced. Yami looked at the phone and just stared at it for a moment. "Yugi, why do you lie like that? You know I never said anything like that!" Yami announced angrily into the phone.

'_It's working._' Yugi's taken over mind thought. "Yes you did," he said aloud, "you told me about Joey, too."

"What about me?" Joey asked, walking into the room. "Who are you two talking to?"

"Joey? Is that you? Nice to…um…hear you." Yugi said over the phone.

"Yug?" Joey asked, sounding quite shocked. "Where the hell are ya'? We've all been worried sick about you!"

"Joey calm down. Yugi doesn't even know where he is." Téa said, attempting to calm Joey down.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Here, I'll go." Joey said as he turned to leave.

"No Joey, don't go yet." Yugi pleaded over the phone, but it was no use. "Okay, I've caused enough trouble, I'll call back later if I get the chance." Yugi said, hanging up the phone.

"Well, at least we know he's okay." Yami said to Téa.

"I guess so, but I still wish we could have at least helped him a little." Téa responded.

"But we did. He got to talk to us, and we got to talk to him. We both know we're looking for him, and just sitting here talking about him isn't going to help." Téa looked over at Yami after he said this, and it gave her some reinforcement in her thoughts for finding Yugi.

"You're right. Come on!" She said.

"Where are we going?" Yami asked, afraid that Téa would once again drag him to their destination.

"To find Joey…we're going go have to help him if we're going to even attempt to help Yugi." She said, and then turned around to Yami. "Oh, and that little speech you just gave makes it okay about you telling Yugi all about our family problems."

"But I didn't tell him!" Yami tried to convince Téa, but it proved worthless.

Joey had stepped outside to get some air and try and clear his head, but thoughts about his father kept coming back into his mind, no matter how hard he tried to ignore them.

'_I just can't stand him anymore._' He thought. '_Mom's gone, and I don't think she is coming back, and neither is Serenity. Even I know that._' Joey kept walking until he came to his favorite spot in the world. He looked down upon the park bench and eyed the rust that had built up on the iron supports. He cleaned some trash from the seat and polished the brass nameplate that read: 'In Memory of All Those with Missing Families'. Joey sat upon the bench and thought. He thought about his mom, his dad, Serenity, and the annoying person on their cell phone just behind him in the shadows of the tree situated behind the bench. He was just about to interrupt the stranger until he heard the conversation the man was having.

"They really bought the whole thing, Mouto?" the man asked into the phone.

Joey may not have been able to hear the other person's response, but he did make a pretty good judgment call about whom the other person was. "Hey, you!" he yelled at the person on the phone.

He looked up and said more to Joey than to the person on the phone, "Oh crud." He hung up the phone and started running away from Joey to the park pond. Joey followed in quick pursuit.

"Hey! Stop!" Joey yelled. He kept running after the man. The man looked over his shoulder at Joey and failed to notice how close he was to the fountain. He tripped over the cement edge and fell into the fountain, head first. His hat and sunglasses fell off revealing his true identity. Joey finally caught up to the man and stared down at him. "You?" he asked of the stranger.

A**/N:Yep, a cliffhanger, my favorite! Here's a special thank you to myreviewing friend(s):**

**Empty.**

Oh well.


	7. The Secrets of British MenRevealed!

_**A/N:Before you start reading this, I have to point something out. This is by far the worst chapter I have ever written (yes, this includes the olden says of the original ATHLTATS). This is because it was written over a period of over 3 months.

* * *

**_

"**Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all its entities belong to Kazuki Takahashi, c/o Shonen Jump.  
****U.S. Properties belong to WB and 4Kids Entertainment.**

**Chapter 7-The Secrets of British Men…Revealed!**

Téa and her companion Yami got into Grandpa's car for a second time, this time with Téa driving. Yami had his seatbelt on for only a second before Téa floored the gas petal. As she was leaving, she knocked over some garbage pails, and barely missed a 'No Parking' sign.

"Um…oops." Téa said, speeding up the street.

"And you thought I was a bad driver?" Yami asked, clutching the upholstery of his seat for dear life. "At least I obeyed the speed limit!"

"Oh shut up and hold on." Téa said, turning down a street, running up the curb.

Back in the park, Joey continued to interrogate the latest suspect in his "case". "So, what did you do with Yugi?" Joey asked.

"The one you call 'Yugi' is no loner on your side. He has come to work for us now." A man with a British accent said to Joey.

"Yugi would never do that and you know it! So I'm gonna ask you just once more, what did you do with Yugi?" The man was about to answer Joey's question when a car came speeding through the park, narrowly avoiding Joey, but failing to miss the fountain that once held the mysterious British person.

"Oh my God! Is everyone all right?" The driver shrieked out of the window.

"Yeah, we're fine, but what the heck were ya' thinking, ya' moron?" Joey insanely yelled at the driver.

"Joey?" Yami asked out of the passenger side window. "Oh thank God we found you. I don't think I could stand to be in any car that Téa is driving anymore."

"Téa almost ran me over?" Joey asked, shocked.

"Sorry." Téa said out the window. "Who's your friend?"

"My latest suspect." Joey proclaimed proudly.

"Suspect? What are you talking about?" Téa asked climbing out the fountain. A crowd had begun to build in the proximity. Some tourists even were taking pictures of the odd even that had just unfolded.

"I overhead this dude on a cell phone talking to someone." He said.

"So?" Yami asked.

"He kept calling that person 'Mouto.'" Joey said. Téa gasped and wrung out her soaked blouse from all the water that had fallen on her while she climbed out of the fountain.

"Come on, let's bring him back to the game shop, people are starting to stare." Yami said as he looked around at everyone's faces.

"You mean I have to get back into the fountain!" Téa complained.

"Yes, but after seeing what you can do, you're not getting behind the driver's seat again." Joey said, diving for the driver's side door. "I'm driving. Yami, get this creep into the back of the car."

"I think this 'investigation' id his is getting to Joey's head." Yami whispered to Téa who laughed. Yami did as he was instructed and took the man into the backseat while Téa got in, and carefully walked back through the fountain. Joey started the car once Téa got in, and carefully backed out of the fountain, back onto the street and calmly drive back in the direction of the game shop.

"You know," the British man started, "compared to what your driving must be like, Joey's driving is rather jolly."

"Jolly?" Asked Téa.

"It's a British thing." The man replied. "You get used to it." Joey just smiled and kept on driving.

Meanwhile, Yugi's mind-controlled body continued to walk about the sewer. But, being that it was Yugi's mind that was taken over, he was not going to give up without a fight. His head ached as he stumbled along the passage. He tried to keep his mind focused on regaining control, but it kept wandering to thoughts about the destruction of his friends, the destruction of his _world_.

Joey safely pulled the car into the back driveway of Yugi's home, turned the car off, and got out. As he did this, Yami and Téa were taking the British man out of the back seat and into the house. On the way in, they passed Yugi's grandfather who was taking something out to the trash. He didn't say a word until he looked at his car.

"What the…!" He yelled. He turned around to ask what happened after he saw the numerous dents and water damage, but realized that he would be talking to nobody on account of Yami, Téa, and Joey being nowhere to be seen. The truth is, they quickly ran inside for they all knew that would be the exact way Yugi's grandpa would react upon seeing the car.

Back in Yugi's room, the three friends were interrogating the British man with any question they could come up with.

"How do you know about this whole thing?" Téa asked. She got no response.

"What are ya doing thing?" Joey asked. He too got no response. Joey was tired of getting nowhere and he started to take his anger out on everyone around him. "Nothing to contribute, Yami?" He scolded.

Yami looked up. "Huh? Um…no." Then he looked down again. Truthfully, Yami was deep in thought, thinking about how he could have been so stupid to let this happen to Yugi. How it all felt like it was his fault that Yugi was gone.

"Well, if you're not going to help, why don't you just leave!" Joey yelled at Yami who was still deep in thought. Yami did feel that Joey's suggestion was a good idea until good old Téa came in to defend him.

"He didn't mean that Yami, of course Joey wants you to help." She said in her usual, cheerful voice with a great big smile.

"Of course I did! Why do ya think I said it!" Joey yelled back at Téa. He then suddenly lunged at Yami who was still not really paying attention.

"Stop it you two!" Téa yelled, trying to pull apart the fighting boys. The rumble caused Yami to fall off his chair and onto the ground, and Joey and Yami began to fight roughly. The British man just laughed at the two rambunctious boys going at each other.

"Oh? So do you have something to add now?" Joey asked the British man. He immediately stopped laughing just in time to see Joey's hand pull him down to the floor along with his other opponent. However, Joey got the surprise of his life when the man hit the floor.

"Ow!" A high-pitched voice yelled out. Joey and Yami stopped fighting and just looked at where the noise came from.

"Was that you Téa?" Yami asked.

"No, I'm not fighting," she said, "it was…him." Téa said, pointing to the British man.

"Okay, I'm confused." Joey said.

Joey, Yami, and Téa took a closer look at their first (and only) clue and realized something was very special about the British man. Yami reaches for the man's cap and took it off. Out came a large mass of blonde hair, tied back in a ponytail.

"You're a girl!" Joey asked in amazement.

The girl just sighed and refused to look up.

"But why?" Téa asked, trying to comfort her, "Why go through all this trouble?"

Again, she refused to look up, and continued to just pout where she was sitting. Yami wanted answers, so he tried to look at the girl's face. What he saw surprised him, as well as making everything crystal clear as to why the girl hid her identity.

"I know why." Yami said, standing up. He took the girl's hand and brought her up with him. "You see," he started, looking into her face, "I know this girl, and she knows me. She knew that if I saw her, I would know it was her right away."

Téa and Joey just continued to look at the girl and now Yami too in awe. Joey broke the silence that had settled on the group first.

"How do you know her? You only came out in the open yesterday!"

Yami was too ashamed to look up, for he knew Joey and Téa would never believe him. Ever so slowly, he started to explain. "Because--I asked--her out."

Yugi continued to struggle with his mind battle.

"Arg!" Yugi screamed out in pain, grasping his head with both hands and falling to his knees. "Get out of my head!" He yelled out to nobody.

The dark sewer drain around him slowly filled with light as he yelled out this sentence. Yugi looked up and stared into the light. It wasn't a nice, sunny type light, but rather a dark, ominous light--like the beginning of a thunderstorm. A being appeared in the middle of the light and its face was hidden in the darkness that still engulfed the top part of the tunnel.

"You want me out of you head?" The ghostly figure impaled upon the frail Yugi.

"Why won't you go away?" He cried out. "I just want to be left alone! --Who are you anyway?"

"I'm the thing that will keep you guessing for as long as I share your mind. I'm the one that will turn you evil."

"Evil?" Yugi asked, shrinking back away from the foreboding light. "How?"

"By turning you against yourself. You want to be left alone? Here's how alone you'll be." The figure said before disappearing. The dark faded, but it came back as quickly as it left, only darker, and more real---like it was inside Yugi's head. That's when Yugi's realized it was in his head, and the next thing that Yugi saw caused him to double over in pain, emotion pain. He saw the scene that had just played out in his room.

_"Because--I asked--her out."_ He heard Yami say. He heard it again and again, the final words echoing through Yugi's mind. He could see everything, almost like he was there. That got him thinking, '_is it real?_' he thought. '_Did Yami really just ask someone out other than Janet? Some friend._'

* * *

**_A/N:Yay! Three months and a lot of patience later, and it's finally done! Normally, I'd thank the reviewers in the order I got their reviews, but I'm giving actress19 first crack._**

**actress19-**I feel I owe you a huge apology. I was harsh when I reviewed your story, and I feel I took away your spirit for writing. You said it yourself that you never leave a fan-fic unfinished, so why start on account of me? Get back to it! You've got a lot of fans you're keeping in suspense. But anyway, to your review…how was it that you knew Yami was hitting on a girl::Shifty eyes:

**Time Keeper**-Thanks for your compliment. The next chapter will come much faster, I promise:)


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